This invention relates to a cutting tool which comprises a base block and at least one replaceable cutting tool bit.
Cutting tools in which the cutting tool bit is designed as a reversible cutting blade are known. The reversible cutting blade may have a circular, square, rectangular, triangular or rhombic shape. The geometric configuration of the cutting tool bit determines the number of the cutting edges and the magnitude of the cutting edge angle, while the shape of the tool bit, particularly its wedge angle and the arrangement of the tool bit on the base block determine the magnitude of the rake angle and the clearance angle. For example, a quadratic reversible cutting blade for a positive rake angle has a maximum of four cutting edges and a cutting edge angle of 90.degree.. Reversible cutting blades of this type are disadvantageous in that due to their geometric shape they are scarcely adapted, if at all, to perform duplicating operations or copying by in-movement. This is so, because their cutting edge angle is many times too large and very often they cannot be properly arranged on the base block. Further, the machining of the cutting edges is expensive.